Jolted by Arthur Slade

Newton Starker's Rules for Survival

Check the weather constantly. Check the sky before exiting a building. When thunder roars, run indoors. Beware of cumulo-nimbus clouds. Do not take a bath during a lightning storm. Do not under any circumstances become angry. Count to ten. Breathe in. Breath out.

For over two hundred years, everyone in the Starker family has died after being hit by lightning, leaving only two-- Great-Grandmother Enid, whose secret to a long life is to grumble about everything, and fourteen-year-old Newton. Determined to break the curse, he enrols in the Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where students must navigate the outdoors, the very place Newton's mother warned him about.

Newton knows that information is power, and so he steadfastly follows his rules for survival. He obsessively checks weather reports before venturing anywhere. He never takes a bath or answers the phone during a lightning storm. But life slowly amps up, and before Newton knows it, he is weathering storms he can't control, including battling Violet Quon, who is equally resolved to get her picture up in the Hall of Heroes, and preparing for First Year Expedition, which is his chance to prove he's the ultimate survivor.

My Thoughts

What a fun book to read. I wasn't sure of what to think when I requested this book from the reading club but I always enjoy a good YA book and this was no exception.

The premise of Newton being the last surviving member of the Starker family to escape being struck by lightning is funny in it`s ghoulishness. That is such an incredibly remote concept...a whole family that somehow acts as a lightning rod and 'beckons' lightning to flow through them and killing them.

We have all been warned by our families about what to do in the event of a thunderstorm so most of these warnings are familiar but I am sure the majority of us could never envisage this strange occurrence happening to us.

Imagine.

I thought that Newton was such an interesting kid. He was so practical about his inevitable fate and he barely allowed his emotional self the room to feel sorrow and grief for the loss of his mother and his lack of friends or bemoan the increased distance between he and his father.

The time that he spends at the Jerry Pott's Academy is so eye-opening for him. he learns so much about his social self...the hidden part who actually yearned for a connection with someone.

He even forms a relationship with his Great-Grandmother Enid and creeps past her defences.

I am eager to read more of Arthur Slade's books.... he has a delightfully twisted imagination that appeals to YA and grownups alike.

Night Runner by Max Turner

Product Description
For Zack Thomson, living in the Nicholls Ward isn't so bad. After his parents died, he developed strange and severe allergies, and the mental institution was the only place where he could be properly looked after. As strange as it was, it was home. He could watch as much television as he wanted; his best friend Charlie visited him often enough; and Nurse Ophelia--the prettiest no-nonsense nurse ever--sometimes took him bowling. Of course, that didn't mean he had it easy. His allergies restricted his diet to strawberry smoothies, and being the only kid at the hospital could get lonely. But it never once crossed Zack's mind to leave...until the night someone crashed through the front doors and told him to run. Now he's on a race for answers--about his past, his parents, and his strange sickness--even as every step takes him closer to the darkest of truths.

From the Inside Flap
"I need blood," I said.... Charlie was sitting in a kitchen chair. He stood up so that he was looking down at me. "Oh, blood. Right. Of course, blood. What was I thinking? Well, we just happen to have a huge barrel of it in the back. Do you want some fries with that?" --From Night Runner

My Thoughts

I obtained this book from the Harper Collins Reading Club on Facebook. It arrived and went on a stack of books about 12 deep and I resolved to get to it as soon as possible. I really wanted to read it as the description intrigued me.

My 14 year old daughter Madeleine beat me to it and she couldn't put it down until it was read. She is of the age of the target audience so it was rather fitting that she be so enthused about it. She was so excited about it that I would find her in odd corners all over the apartment curled up and reading it.

Unfortunately as soon as she finished it she stuck it on a bookshelf in the living room and I forgot all about it. Being of a rather scattered mind these days...out of sight is out of mind for me...so it was a few weeks before it became uncovered again and I read it.

I couldn't agree with my daughter more. This is a debut novel but Max Turner has a deft hand with the mind of a teenager ( after all he is a high school science teacher) and describes with gusto how he imagined a modern horror story to be. ( I also know the teenage mind well as I work with teens in a high school too.)

The ending was a bit predictable but the climax was a breathtaking surprise. I really didn't see it coming!

The character of Zack is extremely likable and you really find yourself rooting for him. Wouldn't it be great if there was a sequel to this?

Well done Max Turner!!